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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25257985">Breathing Slowly Softer Sounds</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADreamIsASoftPlaceToLand/pseuds/ADreamIsASoftPlaceToLand'>ADreamIsASoftPlaceToLand</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Penumbra Podcast</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(spoiler alert: arum needs glasses), Arum has headaches, Arum is a stubborn brat, Headaches, Hurt/Comfort, Lizard Kissin' Tuesday (Penumbra Podcast), Multi, Rilla is a Hooligan, Second Citadel (The Penumbra Podcast), Sickfic, Softness, because I'm like that - Freeform, but that's canon already, kind of, loosely based on That Scene with Sawyer from Lost, migraines, y'know</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 06:22:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,351</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25257985</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ADreamIsASoftPlaceToLand/pseuds/ADreamIsASoftPlaceToLand</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Arum gets headaches, Rilla notices. Arum is grumpy about it.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Lord Arum/Rilla (Penumbra Podcast), Lord Arum/Sir Damien/Rilla (Penumbra Podcast)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>84</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Breathing Slowly Softer Sounds</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Happy Lizard Kissin' Tuesday!!! I haven't written anything for this in ages and BOY OH BOY have I missed these three. this is one of the first ideas i EVER had for a rad bouquet fic, and I'm so happy to finally have it finished. I love you!! </p><p> </p><p>title from Medicine by Havelin</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The Keep is too quiet. Rilla looks up from where she’s been reading and listens for a moment, pulled from her focus by the utter lack of sound in the usually bustling Keep. There is always noise- the noise of insects, the humming bioluminescence that gives her enough light to see under the canopy cover, the quiet chattering of the macrachnids that still make their home in the treetops. But now it is just… Eerily silent. At the very least she would expect to hear the sounds of Arum working on his latest project, but the clinking of glass and the rough scratching of his quill against paper has completely ceased. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She folds her book shut and sets it on her chair as she stands up and makes her way over to the open doorway to Arum’s lab. A question bubbles up from her chest but fizzles away on her tongue as she catches sight of Arum, standing at his worktable. He stands facing away from her, all four hands braced on the table in front of him, his shoulders hunched up to be nearly next to his face. There is tension bleeding off of him in near-palpable waves. She pads across the floor towards him, reaching for his shoulder as she asks, “Arum, what’s the matter?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum’s head snaps towards her and he jumps in surprise as she touches him. Rilla doesn’t even have time to be surprised about the fact that <em>she surprised him</em> before, as he flinches away from her, Arum loses his balance and stumbles, dropping quickly towards the floor. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Arum!” She cries out, and lunges forward to catch him, trying to push most of his weight against the table behind him. He hisses and stumbles backwards, catching himself with one elbow on the table, the other three arms hooked around Rilla. For a moment they stand like that, him half braced on Rilla, half against his work table. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Amaryllis,” he pants, attempting to push himself back up and away from her. “What-“ </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">When she’s sure he’s got his footing back, Rilla steps back to look up at him and puts a hand on her hip. “Arum, what just happened? Are you feeling alright? Wait, stupid question, you’re clearly not feeling alright because I just <em>snuck up on you</em> while walking with my human feet well within range of your “far-superior hearing”. So <em>what’s wrong?”</em></span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum growls, his eyes screwed shut. He mutters through gritted teeth, “I am… Fine, Amaryllis. It is nothing for you to be concerned about.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla does not entirely succeed in biting back a scoff. “Arum, I’m a doctor, remember? If you’re sick it <em>is</em> in fact, something for me to be concerned about. It’s my <em>job</em>.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum does not answer her, but he crosses his upper arms and attempts to level her with a <em>decidedly</em> weak glare (not that she would be swayed by his most vehement of looks). She doesn’t miss how he reaches behind him with his lower arms to brace himself on the table. She crosses her arms and tilts her head up, quirking an eyebrow and appraising him. He’s holding a lot of tension in his shoulders, but apart from that, there’s nothing <em>obviously</em> wrong with him. She’s not even sure he <em>can</em> get sick, or if his illnesses would even be recognizable to her. They’ve never talked about monster illnesses, and she adds this to her mental list of topics she’d like to bring up with him at some point. For now, though, she needs to examine him, and see if she can help him get better. But <em>first</em>, she has to get him to stop being so <em>damn stubborn</em>. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She sighs, and steps toward him, reaching up to cup one side of his face as she asks, “If you’re not going to tell me what’s wrong will you <em>at least</em> let me examine you?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She sees him work his jaw for a moment. “I am not some- <em>scientific specimen </em>for you to gawk at, takatakatakatakataka. I do not need to be <em>examined</em>.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla blinks at this, and her brow furrows. “Hey, you <em>know</em> that’s not what I meant. I’m a <em>doctor</em>, Arum. You’re not a <em>specimen</em> you’re my <em>patient.</em> I love you, and I don’t want you to feel sick if I can help it. I want to <em>help</em> you because I care about you. I don’t think it’s fair of you to say that I’m trying to treat you like an experiment.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">His frill flairs a bit, and he does have the decency to look at least <em>slightly</em> remorseful at that. He hums out a frustrated rattle and shakes his head in resign. “Very well, Amaryllis. If you insist.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Keep, can we get a little more light in here, please?” It’s late in the afternoon and the sun is no longer pushing its way through the tops of the trees, and the dim evening light is not enough for her to conduct a proper examination. The Keep, though, doesn’t brighten the room. It hesitates, trilling out a clearly concerned question much quieter than she is used to hearing. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla doesn’t understand immediately, but she turns to Arum for an explanation and realizes he has scrunched his eyes shut, hunching in on himself. “Arum?”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>Must</em> you brighten the room, Amaryllis?” Arum growls. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Well, yeah, if you want me to do I proper examination, I need to be able to <em>see</em> you-,” She cuts herself off as the implications of his question hit her. “Wait. Arum, do you have a headache?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“If that is what you <em>humans</em> call it, then, yes, Amaryllis, I have a <em>headache</em>.” Arum grumbles. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla looks at him, tilting her head. “You don’t get them very often, do you?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum shrugs in what she <em>thinks</em> is meant to be nonchalance, but his shoulders are so tense that it looks more like a flinch. “Not… <em>normally</em>. They have seemed to happen. <em>More</em> recently.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She furrows her brow at him. “Why didn’t you <em>say </em>something?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>Because</em>, Amaryllis, they are <em>headaches</em>, nothing more. Nothing to be concerned about, and I did not feel particularly enthralled by the idea of being lectured about my <em>work habits</em>, just as you are wont to do with <em>our poet</em> when he overworks himself,” Arum snaps, and Rilla can’t help the laughter that bubbles up from her chest.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Right, because <em>I’m</em> the one that coddles him when he’s feeling sore, or overworked and exhausted,” she replies, grinning and thinking of the many times she has watched Arum using his cool, scaled hands to massage the tension out of Damien’s shoulders, to card fingers through Damien’s sweat-damp hair, to cool fevered skin brought on by too many long and sleepless shifts in the barracks.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum blinks and then hisses petulantly, “That is beside the <em>point</em>, Amaryllis.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She snorts, gently reaching up to pat his cheek. “Alright, I’m gonna do a quick exam, and then you’re going to <em>bed</em>, ok? Nice dark room, no noise. Sleep this off.”</span>
</p><p class="p3">
  
</p><p class="p4"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">After her examination, Rilla scrawls something unintelligible in her notebook. His tail flicks back and forth in annoyance. This took much longer than he expected, and if she’s going to stop him working early for the night the least she could do is actually <em>let him rest</em>. He doesn’t have the energy anymore to verbalize his anger, though, so he sits there and waits for her to finish her assessment. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She snaps her notebook shut and looks up at him. Her expression is unreadable, and suddenly there is a weight in his stomach that doesn’t sit right. “What… What is it?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla sighs, “Well… I’m not <em>entirely</em> positive and I’d like to do some further tests, but it seems to me that you’ve got hypermetropia.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>And what</em>, pray tell, little herbalist, does that <em>mean</em>? Is it serious? What is the treatment? How could I have <em>possibly</em> contracted a human disease? It is <em>clearly</em> the result of my- <em>relations </em>with you and the poet. This is entirely your doing.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla guffaws, clapping a hand over her mouth in a rather poor attempt to stifle her laughter. “<em>What</em>, Amaryllis? I am so <em>pleased</em> my sickness is amusing to you. This has been a complete waste of my time. My experiment has been ruined and I am in far too much pain to deal with your <em>mocking</em>. I am going to bed.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The little herbalist reaches for one of his arms as he prepares to stalk off to bed to sleep off the throbbing in his head. “No, wait I’m sorry, I just,” she giggles again. “Arum are you implying that Damien or I gave you a sexually transmitted disease?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">The full implication of his words sinks in as she throws them back at him, and a harsh rattle sputters from his throat, his frill fluttering around his neck. “I- well <em>how else</em> do you explain my apparent susceptibility to a <em>human</em> illness?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla snorts, and he narrows his eyes at her. “Saints, Arum. You need glasses. Damien and I didn’t give you and STD.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“<em>What</em>.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla laughs in earnest then. “In my defense, you were being a stubborn ass through that <em>whole</em> examination. Worst patient <em>ever</em>, and I had to get back at you <em>somehow</em>.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Looking at the absurd mirth in her eyes, he feels absolutely justified when he leans down and clamps his teeth over her shoulder, biting down just hard enough to express his extreme displeasure. She shoves him off gently, and he growls, “Ridiculous herbalist.”</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p3">
  
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum dozes off with his head in Rilla’s lap, and she strokes the space between his horns absentmindedly, wishing she could light a candle to at least read by until Arum is soundly asleep. She must eventually doze off, too, for the next thing she knows she is startled awake by the sounds Damien arriving home. Arum flinches at the break in the silence but doesn’t seem to wake up completely. She shuffles her legs slightly so she can slip her hands under his head and lift him gently off of her and stand up. He whimpers in protest as she sets his head back down on a pillow. </span>
</p><p class="p5"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Damien’s home,” she murmurs. “I’m just going to go tell him what’s going on so he knows to be quiet, ok? I’ll be right back.” He huffs out a breath and a clawed hand clutches the sheets beneath him, clinging to the warmth she has left behind. </span>
</p><p class="p5"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She pads across the floor and slips out of the room, walking through the portal the Keep creates into the adjacent room where Damien has entered. He’s still pulling off his boots and unloading his gear from his pack, but he looks up as she enters and his smile is as bright as the still-setting sun she can see through the portal behind him.</span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Good evening, my flower!” He rises, depositing his shoes in the basket she keeps by the where the Keep normally summons its portals to her hut, and wraps her in a warm embrace. He presses a kiss to her forehead, and she huffs a laugh before tilting her head back to meet his lips with her own. </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Hey,” she murmurs, warmth swelling in her chest. “Your day go ok?” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damien smiles, “Of course! Rilla, you will not <em>believe-“</em></span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">She cuts him off with another kiss, though just a quick peck this time. “Hey, actually, can you tell me in the morning? Arum’s not feeling well and I think it’s better if we keep quiet tonight to let him rest.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damien’s eyes widen, “Oh, my lily, is he alright what has happened? Oh, Rilla, is it serious? Do you know how to treat him? Does he need a monster doctor? Surely there are some who- who would not <em>mind</em> our situation, for we certainly cannot <em>leave </em>him in such a state, but-“ </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">“Damien, Damien, slow down. He’s alright, he’s just been getting headaches for the last couple of days because he needs glasses,” Rilla holds Damien’s face in her hands. “He’s going to be <em>fine</em>, once I figure out how we’re going to make him glasses… I think I’m going to ask Marc. He’ll probably be able to do the metal work, and it’s gonna be complicated because I have <em>no </em>clue how we’re going to get them to sit on his face without ears to hold them in place. Let <em>alone</em> find someone who will loan us lenses to figure out what strength the needs.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Rilla has spent most of the evening thinking about all of the problems making glasses for a monster is going to present, but she’ll have to wait until she can talk to Marc to figure out exactly how they’re going to do this. “Anyway, he’s in bed. You should come to bed, too. I know you’ve had a long day even if it was a good one.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Damien takes a few minutes to wash off the grime of the day, and then joins Rilla in bed with Arum. Arum doesn’t quite wake up at the disturbance, but he does attempt to shift towards the sudden heat beside him. Rilla watches as Damien pulls Arum’s head into his lap. “Oh, my lily, my poor darling monster… I wish I could do more to ease you pain.” </span>
</p><p class="p2"> </p><p class="p1">
  <span class="s1">Arum presses his snout further into Damien’s lap, pressing his forehead into Damien’s stomach. It makes something in Rilla ache to see the way her two boys love each other. Arum seeking out Damien’s soothing comfort in sleep in a way he would be reticent to acknowledge were he more conscious. Damien’s quiet smile at Arum’s clinginess prompts Rilla to reach across Arum and kiss Damien, smiling at the way his smile feels on her lips. Rilla scoots back to break their kiss and lays down behind Arum, rubbing his shoulders and back gently. She falls asleep comforted knowing figure something out, and they’ll make him better, but for now they’ll offer what comfort they can, even if he grumbles and pouts about it, for their love is soft enough to handle even the sharpest edges of their monster.</span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>come find me on tumblr @shorter-than-her-tbr-pile</p></blockquote></div></div>
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